Cooking range of the sliding drawer type



Feb. 16, 1965 M. w. MAIER 3,169,517

COOKING RANGE OF THE SLIDING DRAWER TYPE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. l0,1963 Feb. 16, 1965 M. w. MAIER 3,169,517

' COOKING RANGE oF THE SLIDING DRAWER TYPE Filed Jan. l0, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 mlllll f7? zezz for: .Mickael lf/gazier removal of thepan from the surface unit.

c( 3,169,517 f Patented Feb. 16, 15965 CooKrNo This 4invention relatesto improvements in cooking ranges of the sliding drawer type, andinparticular to an improved safety disconnect therefor.

In this type of range, the surface units are mounted in a slidablyarranged drawer or the like. This drawer type range is common inso-called built-in and wall mounted ranges, aswell as in free standingranges of various types. In this arrangement, the surface units, whennot in use, are pushed rearwardly into a recess in the body of the rangewhere they are hidden from view, thus contributing to a neaterappearance of the kitchen as a whole.

In ranges of this type, there are two hazardous conditions which are tobe avoided. The first condition is that of permitting one or moresurface units to remain energized when the drawer is closed. Thiscondition can be referred to as the generated heat hazard.

The second condition is that of permitting oneor more surface units toradiate heat when the drawer is closed. This too is a hazard, becausethe excessive heat developed in thecontined space may cause ignition ofspilled grease or food, even though the circuit is de-energized. Surfaceunits are designed to have high caloric capacity; it requires from threeto ve minutes for a surface unit to come to room temperature whenexposed and vented. However, in a, confined space, the cooling off ismuch slower; the entire area including the drip pan beneath the unitwill be rapidly elevated to a temperature of several hundred degreeswithin a minute or so after the drawer is closed, and may remain at thatdangerous temperature for as long as fifteen minutes.

The difference in the rate of cooling off is partially accounted for bythe fact that the'usual venting arrange ments for drawer mounted burnersare necessarily cut votf by the closing of the drawer, and partially bythe fact that the drawer itself is an enclosed structure which, whenreceived in a recess, is confined at the bottom and at both sides.

Thissecond condition can be referred to as the ambient heat hazard. Inaddition to its being a fire hazard, it causes krapid aging anddeterioration of electrical insulation and damage to enameled andpainted parts.

Y The ambient :heat hazard is encountered'much more frequently than thegenerated heat hazard. It is primarily l,under the operators control,and stove makers customarily furnish warnings against closing the drawerwhile the surface units are still hot.

Ranges of this type are customarily provided with a safety disconnectwhich is actuated by drawer movement. This prior art device is designedto guard against only the generated heat hazard, Ybut it affords noprotection against the ambient heat hazard.

' It is an object of my invention to provide an improved range`construction which provides positiveV protection against the generatedheat hazard, and which also materially decreases the likelihood of theoccurrence of the ambient heat hazard.

According to my invention, this objective is obtained by providing asafety disconnect which is actuated by the Although, as `pointed outabove, the closing of the drawer, which initiates the hazardouscondition, is under the operators i along line 3-3 of FIG. l;

.above the same.

control, nevertheless, when .the range is provided'with my improveddisconnect, the'lik'elihoodof doing .this through inadvertence ismaterially reduced?.

For example, Vthesituation .that occurs rather commonly is that' .thehousewife" has inadvertently left the burner energized. This isdiscovered when the* time comesv to push in thel drawer. But the mereact f turning off the control switch just before the drawer is closeddoes not avoid the ambient heat hazard of excessive temperature withinthe range body.

However, when therange is equipped with'my invention, as soon as the panis removed from the surface unit, the latter begins to cooljwith theresult that after cleaning up the kitchen and when the .time cornes toclose the drawer the surface units will all be at room temperature. Theelement of inadvertence has been eliminated.

Another object of my invention is to provide a panoperated disconnect inwhich the switch mechanism is located at a point which is sufficientlyremote .from the surface unit that it will not be materially affected bythe heat radiated from the surface unit. This is accomplished by the useof a simple mechanical linkage in the form of a vertically movingplunger located concentrically with the convolutions of the surfaceunit, and a rearwardly extending lever connecting the plunger with theswitch which is mounted on the rear of the drawer in a low yheat zone.

Still anotherV object of my invention is to provide a switch actuatingmechanism which is protected from drippage which would tend to impedethe free movement of parts. `According tothis aspect of my invention,the actuating lever and the pivot are totally enclosed in a housing, andthe plunger is enclosed within a tube. This arrangement also provides aninexpensive means for maintaining the plunger in its upright position. y

Gther objects are to provide anenclosed switch actuating mechanism whichcan be readily assembled into the drawer, andwhich avoids the use ofsprings in the high heat area immediately adjacent the surface unit, andwhich is operative even though the `pan. bottom is warped.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

With. reference now to the drawings in which like reference numeralsv'designate like parts:` L

FIG. l is an elevation of a portion of a cooking range embodying myinvention;

PEG. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section showing the drawer, taken FIG. 41s a.fragmentary rear elevation of the drawer of FIG. 3; and

FiG. 5 is a section taken alongline 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of an arrangement for applying theinvention to a gas burning range.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 10 designatesa range body which is structurally independent from and disposed above albase 11. The range body 1t) may either be `supported on the Vbase orhung from the wall. In this type of range, the `oven 12 iscustomarilydisposed above the surface heating units 13, and the Alatterare disposed in a slidably mounted .drawer 14.

The structure of the -range body 10 includes an imperforate bottom Wall15, and a shelf 16 which is spaced Rearwardly of the shelf 15 is avented chamber V17 which extends between the bottom wall 1S and the oven12. The space between the shelf leand the bottom wall 15 forms a recess18 which extends between the front `of Vthe range Iand the ventedchamber 17, and in which the drawer 14 is slida-blymounted.

The structure of the drawer 14 includes a front wall 20,

a back wall 21, side walls 22, a top wall 23 and a bottom wall 24, thusproviding an enclosed sheet metal structure of substantial rigidity. Thetop wall 23 is provided with openings 25 in which the surface units aremounted by suitable spiders 26. An annular drip pan 27 lis removablydisposed beneath each surface unit. The drawer 14, when in openposition, is a vented structure due to the provision of vent openingslocated at various pointsin the front, bottom or side walls, asexemplified by the louvers 2S shown in FIG. 2. Thus, when the surfaceunits 13 are operating, air circulates upwardly through the louvers 23and the annular drip pan 27, and out through the openings 25.

The range body includes suitable drawer supporting means such as therollers 29 which extend into channels 30 located on the side walls 22.In order to support the drawer when in its extended position, the sidewalls 22 and channels 30 are extended rearwardly beyond the back wall 21as shown in FIG. 3.

The space between the shelf 16 and the drawer 14 provides a vent opening31 for the chamber 17. When the drawer is in its extended position, thespace 32 at the sides of and beneath the drawer provide additionalventing means for the chamber 17.

Thus incident to the closing of the drawer 14, the drawer vents 28 arecut oft", as well as any air currents in the space 32, with the resultthat if one or more of the surface units 13 are hot when the drawer isclosed, the temperature of the side and bottom walls 22, 24, will berapidly increased due to lack of air circulation.

Therefore, the space 50 enclosed by the drawer 47 constitutes a highheat zone when the drawer is closed and the venting arrangements cutoff. Even when arrangements are made for the circulation of air throughthe space 32, the parts located within the drawer are subject to a rapidincrease in temperature when the drawer is closed. It can also bepointed out that in this built-in type of range it is required that thebottom wall as well as the side walls of the range body be imperforate;all venting arrangements have to communicate with the front, top, orrear of the range body, with the result that there is little latitude ofdesign as compared with the usual type of cooking range.

A separate safety disconnect is provided for each one of the surfaceunits 13, and since all are identical, only one will be described. Thesafety disconnect comprises a disconnect switch 33 and switch actuatingmeans.

As shown in FIG. 3, the disconnect switch 33 for the surface unit 13 ismounted on and spaced from the back wall 21 of the drawer 14 by means ofa suitable bracket or stud 34. An important feature of the presentinvention is that the switch 33 is located on the external surface ofthe back wall 21 so that it is remote from the high heat zone 50. Inother words, it is subject to the ambient temperature of the chamber 17rather than the enclosed space 50. Thus the disconnect switch 33 and theresilient switch arm 36 will not be subject to extreme temperatures ofthe type which might impair their eiciency or cause deterioration oftheir insulating or resilient properties, as the case may be.

The disconnect switch 33 includes a plunger 35 and a switch arm 36pivotally mounted on a switch body which extends laterally and isengaged by a lever 37 mounted in a housing 38.

The housing 38 is `an inverted U-shaped metal member which is secured tothe bottom wall 24 of the drawer 14 by means of one or more screws 39which take into sockets 4t) spot welded to the bottom wall 24. The upperwall 41 of the housing 38 is provided with an opening in which ismounted an upright tube 42, the lower end of the tube 28 being anged andsuitably spot welded to the upper wall 41. The back wall 21 of thedrawer 14 is-provided with an opening 43 which communicates with theinterior of the housing 38 and through which the lever 37 extends.

A plunger 44 is disposed within the upright tube 42 and is linked bymeans of a' pin 45 to the front end of the lever 37. The lever ismounted on a horizontal pivot pin 46 which extends through the sidewalls of the housing 23. The plunger 44 extends about a quarter of aninch or more above the level of the surface unit 13 and is provided atits top with a cupshaped cap 47 which is larger in diameter than thediameter of the tube 42, thus serving as a means for preventing food anddrippings from entering the space between the plunger 44 and the tube42.

Plunger 44 is maintained in its elevated position by means ofcounterweights 48 or other means located at the rear end of the lever37, thus avoiding the use of spring biasing means located in the highheat Zone Si).

The parts are totally enclosed by the housing 38 and the tube 42 so thatno food or drippings can clog the tube or the pins 45 and 46.Nevertheless, the arrangement is such that the switch actuatingmechanism is easily assembled with the drawer for the reason that thelever 37 and its associated parts are preassembled with the leverhousing 38 and tube 42 to form a single subassembly. All that isrequired in securing the subassembly 37-38-42 to the drawer 11 is theinsertion of the screw 39 into its socket 40. It will be noted that theupper wall 41 of the housing 38 is extended through the back wallopening 43 to provide a lip 49 which maintains the rear end of thehousing 38 in its desired position.

In order to accommodate pans which have warped bottoms, the switchplunger 35 is located so that it will be engaged and operated into itson position by only a .slight displacement of the switch arm 36, and theswitch arm 36 is made of resilient spring stock so that the tlexurethereof will take up the rather considerable overthrow of the lever 37when a nonwarped pan bottom causes depression thereof to a ush position.Since the switch arm 36 is located outside of the high heat zone 50, itsresilience will not be affected by the temperature of the burner.

The disconnect switch 33 is connected in series circuit with the surfaceunit 13 and with one of the control switches 5l by suitable conductors,not shown, which are provided with heat resistant insulation in Ithehigh heat zone 50.

The present invention is also applicable tosu'rface units of the gasburner type, the disconnect switch 33 con trolling a solenoid operatedvalve 60 in the gas line 61, as shown in FIG. 6. In this arrangement,the gas surface unit 13' is located in the drawer 14 and an extensiblegas' connection 62 is interposed between the control valve 51', alsomounted on the drawer, and the solenoid operated valve 60 which islocated in the range body. The extensible gas connection 62 permitsmovement of the drawer between its open and closed position, and may beany suitable type, such as a telescopio connection, an articulatedconnection, or a section of flexible tubing, as shown.

In operation, when the drawer 14 is in its extended position, as shownby the broken lines in FIG. 2, the surface unit 13 is normallyde-energized except during such periods as a pan rests on the surfaceunit 13 and depresses the plunger 44. Before the drawer can be closed,it is necessary to remove the pan from the surface unit 13, and thisautomatically opens the disconnect switch 33. If the surface unit hasnot previously been de-energized by the control switch 51, the act ofpan removal will bring this fact to the housewifes attention with theresult that the drawer can be left in its extended position for theshort length of time it takes to permit the surface unit to drop tosubstantially room temperature when exposed and vented.

However, even if the drawer is closed imediately after pan removal, thedisconnect switch 33 is not subject to, the ambient heat of the highhea-t zone 50.

l Although only a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shownand described herein, it will be understood that various modiiicationsand changes may bottom wall. i

lswitch arm.

be made in the construction shown without departing from the spirit ofmy invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A cooking range comprising, in combination, a

range body, a drawer slidably mounted therein, said' drawer mcluding abottom wall, a back wall having an opening therein, a top wall having anVopening therein, and side Walls, drawer venting means arranged tor ex-`posure whenl said darwer is extended, a surface heating unit disposedin said top wall opening, va disconnect switch for said surface unitmounted externally on Ithe back Wall at a point adjacent said backwallopening,

` and switch actuating means extending between saidsurface unit and saidswitch' and comprising a housing disposed beneath said surface unit andextending rearwardly Y to said back wall opening, an upright tubularmember mounted on the upper wall of saidl housing, a lever pivotallyymounted in said housing and having a rear endpor tion whichy extendsthrough said back wall opening and engages said switch, a plungerroddisposed in said tubular member and maintained thereby in an uprightposition, and having its lowery end engaging said lever, and

VVVmeans biasing Said lever and said plungerrod into a normal positionwherein the upper end of said plunger rod projects through xsaid surfaceunit for engagement by a pan in'order thaty said engagement may closesaid disconnect yswitch, whereby removal of said pan from said ,ysurface unit incident'to the` closingof said drawer will position andkcause operation of said disconnect switch to render inoperativey saidsurface unit at a time whensaid'Y restoresaid'lever and saidV plungerrodto said normal venting means are exposed.

k 2. A cooking range as claimed in claim 1 in which said bottom ,wall isprovided with ya screw threadedr socket,V and in'which said housing isin the form of aninverted U-shaped member disposed on said 'bottom wallabove v said socket, and a Vscrew extending through the upper Wall ofsaidv fU-shaped member and taking into said socket whereby said leverhousing is removably mounted on said l A cooking range as claimed inclaim 1in which said biasing means comprises a counterweight mounted onsaid rear end portion ofsaid lever for maintainingsaid plunger inelevated position. Y v f i 4. A'cooking range as claimed inclaim 1 inwhich said 'disconnect switch includesja pivotally mounted resilientswitch arm having its outerend overlying said lever whereby ydepressionof said plunger 4will tend to vflex said ,switch arm to accommodateoverthrow of said plunger and lever beyond the switch actuating positionof said 5. A cooking range as claimed in claim 1in which said surfaceheating unit is a gas surface unit, and including a gas line toksupplysaid surface unit,l a solenoid operated valve in said gas line yandmounted in said range body, extensible gas connection means extendingvfrom said solenoid `'operated valve to said surface unit, and an eleciremoval of said pan from said surface unit incident to t y t5 triccircuit Vincluding said solenoid operated valve and said disconnectswitch, whereby the operation of said disconnect switch incident to saidpan removal will close said solenoid operated valve and cut off the gassupply to said surface unit.

6. A cooking range comprising an oven, a vented chamber disposed belowsaid oven, a recess extending horizontally between' the front of saidrange and said vented chamber and providing an inlet vent for saidchamber, and a drawer slidably mounted in said recess, said drawerineludinga bottom wall, a back wall having an opening therein, a topwall having an opening therein, and side walls, drawer venting meansarranged for exposure when said drawer is extended, a surface heatingunit disposed insaid top wallfopening, a disconnect switch for saidsurface unit mounted externally on the back wall at a point Vadjacentsaid back wall opening and projecting into said vented chamber when saiddrawer is closed, and switch actuating means extending between saidsurface .unit and said switch and comprising a lever pivotally mountedon said bottom wall and having a rear end portion which extends throughsaid back wall opening and engagesgsaid switch, an upright plungerirodhaving its lower end connected to said lever, and means biasing saidlever and, said plunger rod into a normal position wherein the upper endof said plunger rod projects through said Surface unit for engagement bya pan in order that said engagement may close said disconnect switch,whereby the closing'ot" said drawer will restore saidlever and saidplungerrodto Ysaidno'rmal position and cause 'operation ofsaiddisconnect switch to render inoperative said sur` face unit at altimewhen said drawer venting meansare exposed,

7. A cooking range as claimed in claim 6 in which said surface heatingunit is apgas surface unit, and including a gas lineto supply saidsurface unit, a solenoid operated 'y valve in said gas line and mountedin said range body, l extensible gas connection meansextending from saidsolenoidroperatedvalve to said surface unit, and anelectric circuitincluding said solenoid operated valve and said disconnect switch,whereby the operation of said disconnect switch incidentl to said panremoval willY kclose said solenoid operated valve and cut off the gassupply to said Smith Aug. ,28, ,1962

1. A COOKING RANGE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A RANGE BODY, A DRAWERSLIDABLY MOUNTED THEREIN, SAID DRAWER INCLUDING A BOTTOM WALL, A BACKWALL HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN, A TOP WALL HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN,AND SIDE WALLS, DRAWER VENTING MEANS ARRANGED FOR EXPOSURE WHEN SAIDDRAWER IS EXTENDED, A SURFACE HEATING UNIT DISPOSED IN SAID TOP WALLOPENING, A DISCONNECT SWITCH FOR SAID SURFACE UNIT MOUNTED EXTERNALLY ONTHE BACK WALL AT A POINT ADJACENT SAID BACK WALL OPENING, AND SWITCHACTUATING MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SURFACE UNIT AND SAID SWITCH ANDCOMPRISING A HOUSING DISPOSED BENEATH SAID SURFACE UNIT AND EXTENDINGREARWARDLY TO SAID BACK WALL OPENING, AN UPRIGHT TUBULAR MEMBER MOUNTEDON THE UPPER WALL OF SAID HOUSING, A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAIDHOUSING AND HAVING A REAR END PORTION WHICH EXTENDS THROUGH SAID BACKWALL OPENING AND ENGAGES SAID SWITCH, A PLUNGER ROD DISPOSED IN SAIDTUBULAR MEMBER AND MAINTAINED THEREBY IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION, AND HAVINGITS LOWER END ENGAGING SAID LEVER, AND MEANS BIASING SAID LEVER AND SAIDPLUNGER ROD INTO A NORMAL POSITION WHEREIN THE UPPER END OF SAID PLUNGERROD PROJECTS THROUGH SAID SURFACE UNIT FOR ENGAGEMENT BY A PAN IN ORDERTHAT SAID ENGAGEMENT MAY CLOSE SAID DISCONNECT SWITCH, WHEREBY REMOVALOF SAID PAN FROM SAID SURFACE UNIT INCIDENT TO THE CLOSING OF SAIDDRAWER WILL RESTORE SAID LEVER AND SAID PLUNGER ROD TO SAID NORMALPOSITION AND CAUSE OPERATION OF SAID DISCONNECT SWITCH TO RENDERINOPERATIVE SURFACE UNIT AT A TIME WHEN SAID VENTING MEANS ARE EXPOSED.